Unit:
Specialty Greek and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology: From the Bronze Age Palaces to the Hellenistic KingdomsLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Author:
Weerasinghe Savin
Supervisors info:
Dr. David Scahill, Professor, Department of History and Archaeology, NKUA
Dr. Dimitris Plantzos, Professor, Department of History and Archaeology, NKUA
Dr. Stylianos E. Katakis, Professor, Department of History and Archaeology, NKUA
Original Title:
Tholos and Vatadage: A Study of Hellenistic Influence in Ancient Sri Lankan Architecture
Translated title:
Tholos and Vatadage: A Study of Hellenistic Influence in Ancient Sri Lankan Architecture
Summary:
Greek architecture has a long history that can be dated back several millennia. A fascinating characteristic of that is how it had spread and influenced the architecture of regions near and far. In some cases, the architectural influence was spread through military campaigns such as Alexander’s. In other cases, it was later adopted for symbolic reasons. This paper analyzes the plausibility of Hellenistic influence in ancient Sri Lankan religious architecture within the framework of Transmission of Design. My study is focused on three significant characteristics between the tholos and Vatadage. The first is the structural comparison and illustrating where they share certain architectural attributes, as well as where they differ. The second is to draw a hypothetical path of influence based on historical data. The final characteristic is to compare the symbolic function of these religious structures to understand the purposes why they were built.
Main subject category:
Archaeology
Keywords:
tholos, vatadage, transmission of design, greece, sri lanka, architecture
